twobadfish

None of this story of the advice contained herein makes sense.

MLKATO

Thank God I live in Northwest Arkansas and not the Southern part of the state were aligators live. I think the OP is saying that anything can happen on a bike.I worry more of drivers on cell phones more than animals. Any situation we may find ourselves in,a helmet can save your life. I'd rather wear a helmet and look goofy to non-riders than to re-learn the alphabet.

Six jours

Which is why you wear your helmet 24/7?

Six jours

You know, of all the activities in which I have participated, cycling is the only one in which a significant percentage of fellow participants have been so goddamned obnoxious about butting into other people's business. I don't have any firm ideas why that is, but I wish it would stop.

wroomwroomoops

I can agree that the scratch on the forehead would have been avoided. However, that same "sticking out" of the helmet would have increased the concussion.

wroomwroomoops

Unfortunately, a helmet will do nothing to prevent a concussion and associated brain injury, so you'll have to relearn the alphabet just the same, helmet or no helmet.

pitchpole

No matter what you think you will fall/crash eventually. The helmet would have helped me and if I was to say otherwise I would be lying to myself and everyone else. If you dont want to wear it thats fine. I think you will change your mind after you give the asphalt a kiss. I have had other wrecks where I got lucky and my head did not hit the road, obviously my luck ran out.

Ratzinger

I wear my helmet all the time. I'm all for it.

Arguments for and against helmets are fine, but people who feel like they can decree to others what they should do: "WEAR YOUR HELMET" is really annoying and I don't think encourages anyone to do so. It sounds like a mom talking to her 5 year old kid.

I did once have a helmet protect me from an animal attack. It was a red-wing Blackbird. I was stopped, looking over a marshy/pond thing and it flew right at me. I though it would veer off at the last second but I was shocked when it attacked my head! It's funny how tiny little animals can scare us big humans sometimes (or me at least).

Obviously the gator is not a harmless little animal and I'm glad that you got away.

pitchpole

The sun was going down and this one was laying parallel to the trail in an area that has heavy canopy cover thus he was nearly impossible to see till I was right upon him. At which point I started to swerve away towards the other side of the trail hoping to stay away from it. The gator made a quick 90 degree turn, lunged and bit down on the middle of my bike stopping me instantly and sending me over the bars. It is very rare for an alligator to attack someone and though they are occasionally seen on that stretch they usually scuttle off when sighted.

LesterOfPuppets

Much less severe? Maybe if the helmet you mention is full face.

MLKATO

Thought about it while we were having bad weather! They said a bike helmet is recomended for kids during a tornado for flying glass and debris. But I was meaning about what might happen during a ride.

Digital_Cowboy

Have you been to Florida? They're everywhere, telling someone to stay away from alligators is easier said than done. As any decent sized body of water has the potential to house one or more alligators.

Six jours

I know what you meant. I was just pointing out that the same rationale applies to everything you do. Considering the number of people who die in car crashes, a helmet probably makes more sense for driving than cycling - yet at the car forums in which I participate, nobody ever gets on anyone for driving bare-headed. Which is nice.

Six jours

I started riding and racing several decades ago. I still have my last category 1 racing license, as well as the scars from a 40 mph field sprinting crash and a 50 mph motorpaced crash on a board track. So my mind is pretty well made up when it comes to cycling. For me, a helmet is unlikely to be necessary and unlikely to be helpful if it is. I don't presume to be able to make that decision for anyone else. Too bad that makes me such a minority...

Six jours

This.

I have never in my life been told by a bare-headed rider to "Take off your helmet!" yet perfect strangers feel obligated to yell at me to put one on. Somebody else's decision to not wear a helmet DOES YOU NO HARM. So why are certain folks so committed to making other people do their bidding?

Monster Pete

Agreed. My decision not to wear a helmet when cycling is based on risk-assessment: I've concluded that the risk of a helmet-preventable injury while cycling is low enough to outweigh the annoyance and dubious safety benefit of a bicycle helmet, and certainly lower than the risk of similar injury while attempting to get home from the pub (maybe there's a need for drinking helmets) If I do come off the bike, it's likely to be due to a ton of ill-guided metal attempting to be in the same place as me, in which case a bicycle helmet is not going to help, or sliding over on a slippery road, in which case the reflex action is to break your fall with an arm- hence why I wear a pair of leather gloves when off roading and in bad weather.

IMO, simply telling people to 'wear a helmet' doesn't really accomplish anything. If you want to wear one, its your choice to make. Justify your decision with hard facts and logical reasoning, and I'll listen.

MLKATO

I think how lucky I was as a kid. I never wore a helmet,they didn't make any for us,and we probably wouldn't have worn one anyway. All the time I was doing Evel Knevel imitations with my bike I never broke a bone. Knock on wood. Now I won't go down the street without one.

Six jours

Nobody over 35 wore a helmet when they were a kid. Were we all lucky? Or is riding a bike maybe not the death-defying activity the helmet salesmen want us to believe?

NukeouT

LOL

I just crashed into one of those highway borders yesturday and flew over it headfirst into some short pointy rocks sticking out of the dirt. Thanks to my helmet I dont have any triangular holes in my scalp or skull.

For those of you who still dont wear helmets, just make sure to pass ownership of your rides to me in your will, ok?

I-Like-To-Bike

Thank to my ability to ride a bike, I have never crashed into a highway border or any other stationary object alongside the road.

Do you have some sort of disability that prevents you from seeing or reacting properly and staying upright in the presence of "those highway borders"? If so you should quit biking and/or make sure you keep your will updated.

CB HI

Bad suggestion. I would rather he run into things while riding a bicycle over running into things while driving a motor vehicle.

Hippiebrian

Exactly! If riding a bicycle was such a dangerous act that helmets were required to "save your life" there would be no one alive over 35. Seriously, people, if you want to promote cycling, quit making it look as dangerous as motorcycle racing...because it's NOT! There are less than 800 deaths in the entire country every year on bicycles, whereas there are that many every day in cars! Yet no one tells drivers they need helmets.

Riding a bicyucle is an inherently safe act, and it is more likely to increase your life span if you ride without a helmet vs. not riding at all! And trust me, a bicycle helmet will not do any good in an alligator attack!

Hippiebrian

Let's see, I am 49 years old and ride a Raleigh Sojourn...not quite the bicycle for dirt jumping, so once again, I'm still convinced the bicycle cap will suffice!

Kurt Erlenbach

Stopped for this one a few weeks ago:



Here's a speed bump from last fall:



And this one is my favorite:



Gotta watch out for those fellows if you're going to ride in sunny Fla.

AlmostTrick

So you're saying maybe instead of an alligator story it was a crock story?

Heal up quick pitchpole.